Stoner Odysseys (feat.
Marshall Shaffer)

Episode 94

A couple 4/20’s ago, we spent a day on the couch with the genre of Cult Weed Movies (HowHigh, Bongwater, etc.), but today our chosen stoner movies are on a mission, maybe to nowhere. In this week’s episode, we unpack the wild and circuitous journeys of some unlikely high heroes. Inherent Vice is groovy and insane (5:00), Dude, Where’s My Car? is the featherweight sci-fi prequel to “The Hangover” (37:50), and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is actually more about race than weed (51:30).

With the help of Slash Film writer Marshall Shaffer (19:00) and his strong feelings about where “Inherent Vice” belongs in the PTA canon, Chance and Noah head off on their own little mission. As always, they’re searching for the proverbial lost car of their often-conflicting film taste. Light up and listen in.

If you’re curious about the work we discuss in the old Ethos Corner, you can check out and buy Nick White’s Sweet and Low and Cinelle Barnes’ Monsoon Mansion at the links. Then, Chance’s new essay on Silence of the Lambs is here.

Wait, What is This?

Movie Reviews & Reappraisals

Be Reel is a movie reviewing & reappraising podcast hosted by Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard.

Each time out, we select three movies based around a genre and call up guests ranging from submarine captains to Oscar winners. Then, we rate the movies, weighing both technical quality and entertainment.